Ah! I almost forgot! I was going to give you some suggestions for texts that
you may want to check out!
General Texts with Grammar Sections-
*Language Exploration and Awareness*: *A Resource Book for Teachers *Andrews,
Larry
*Language Alive in the Classroom* Wheeler, Rebecca (Ed.)
*Linguistics for Teachers* Cleary, L. M. & Linn, M. D. (Eds.) (I
particularly like this one!)
*How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction, *Curzan, A. & Adams, M.
*An Introduction to Language, *Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams (a classic intro)
*Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation: An
Introduction to Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics for Nonspecialists*,
Brown, S. & Attardo, S. (I have some objections to this text overall, but it
has good applications for teachers as well as a workbook.)
*Relevant Linguistics: An Introduction to the Structure and Use of English
for Teachers*, Justice, P. W.
Grammar Texts-
*Grammar Today: The New American Language and Grammar Primer, *Betting, R.
*Grammar Alive! A Guide for Teachers*, Haussamen and ATEG Members
*English Grammar for Writing*, Honegger, M.
*A Communicative Grammar of English, *Leech, G. & Svartvik, J.
*Introducing English Grammar*, Borjars, K. & Burridge, K.
*Understanding English Grammar*, Kolln, M.
These are just a few that I've found effective. Richard Betting's text
(Richard is a member of this list I believe) is a newer one that I
particularly like.
Hope these help!
John Alexander
Austin, Texas
On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 2:34 PM, Natalie Gerber
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> Edmond,
>
> Yes, the virtues are apparent for all the reasons you say, and I will make
> use of this model. Again, thanks. But am I alone in finding that my
> college-level students are unable to identify parts of speech, let alone
> phrasal and syntactic structures? I ask in all seriousness because in
> January I will teach, for only the second time, a grammar course "for
> everyone" but especially for future teachers of English. My expectations
> were completely dashed the first time through. Is the kind of remarkable
> attention and methodology you describe here in wide use?
>
> I'd also be grateful to you and everyone else for recommendations on a good
> grammar book to use. I used Longman in conjunction with a Diana Hacker book
> (and handouts from Artful Sentences) last time to give an overview of
> descriptive and prescriptive approaches, but I found working with the two
> texts difficult. I'm considering Graeme Kennedy's Structure and Meaning in
> English, and I've requested a review copy of the new book discussed on this
> listserv about a week ago. Any other suggestions?
>
> Natalie
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Edmond
> Wright
> Sent: Tue 12/9/2008 2:54 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Graphic Syntax
>
>
>
> > Natalie,
>
> The great advantage of the Christensen method is that one can introduce it
> by stages over the years. For example, 7th graders can manage both
> sentence
> combining and analysis of repeated noun clusters, and of present participle
> phrases; one can get them used to two levels of dependence. And thus one
> can introduce past participle phrases and preposition phrases at the next
> stage. Clauses and absolutes can come in at the ninth grade, and so on,
> increasing the possible levels of dependence as one goes.
>
> Edmond
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Edmond,
> >
> > Thank you for pointing out a valuable resource, which is indeed new to
> me. I
> > look forward to reading it. I don't believe this method will describe all
> > free-verse, perhaps I should say, organic-verse or experimental poets,
> since
> > they strain against syntactic groupings, but it certainly goes far toward
> > making precise judgments possible, and describes much free-verse poetry.
> You
> > may already know this, but I thought I'd mention that the groupings you
> > identify below are also relevant to generative metrical accounts of poems
> > written in meter. Placement of the caesura in relation to complete, or
> > athwart, syntactic entities is one way of creating cola and rhythmical
> > complexity within conventional metrical verse. I believe Bruce Hayes has
> done
> > interesting work with this in relation to several meters.
> >
> > May I ask at what level are the students with whom you use this method?
> >
> > Natalie
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Edmond
> Wright
> > Sent: Sun 12/7/2008 8:35 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Graphic Syntax
> >
> >
> >
> > As regards 'graphic syntax' no one seems to have noticed that they are
> > trying to do what Francis Christensen demonstrated (pages 9-13 of his
> 'Notes
> > Toward a New Rhetoric' [New York, Harper & Row, 1967]) -- as I described
> in
> > my email of a few days ago, and which I use with my students. According
> to
> > his method, Carolyn Harnett's sentence ought to appear thus:
> >
> > 1 Poets . . . chunk their poems
> > 2 who write in traditional forms . . . (RC)
> > 3 based on metre and rhyme (VC)
> > but 3 in a different way from graphic syntax (PP)
> > 4 which chunks . . . (RC)
> > 5 based on grammatical units (VC)
> >
> > RC: Relative Clause
> > VC: Verb Cluster
> > PP: Prepositional Phrase
> >
> > I prefer to split 'Verb Clusters' into Past Participle Phrase (as both
> the
> > examples here), Present Participle Phrase, and Infinitive Phrase;
> > Christensen lumps them all together.
> >
> > Christensen's numbers indicate the hierarchy of grammatical dependence.
> > Hence my suggestion for students of drawing vertical lines down the page
> to
> > correspond.
> >
> > His other suggested groupings are as follows:
> >
> > SC: Subordinate Clause. This is an confusion, since Relative Clauses
> [his
> > RC] are subordinate clauses. He already has
> >
> > NC for Noun Cluster. Again possibly confusing, since it looks like Noun
> > Clause. He uses it for such extensions of meaning as 'a quick shake' in
> the
> > sentence 'He dipped his hands in the bichloride solution and shook them,
> a
> > quick shake.'
> >
> > AC: Adjective Cluster (e.g. for the two phrases attached here: 'They
> > huddled, wild as deer, deadly as rattlesnakes.')
> >
> > A + A: Adjective series (e.g. For the three adjectives here: 'They
> > huddled, gaudy, motionless and alert.')
> >
> > Abs: Absolute Phrase (e.g. for the two phrases attached here: He stood
> at
> > the top of the stairs and watched me, I waiting for him to call me up, he
> > hesitating to come down.')
> >
> >
> > I prefer the following:
> >
> > ADJP (Adjective Phrase) for both his AC and A + A.
> >
> > NP for Noun Phrase (e.g. the noun phrase in apposition, 'an expert
> swimmer'
> > in 'The scout, an expert swimmer, was soon across the lake.'
> >
> > ADVC for Adverbial Clause.
> >
> > ADJC for Adjectival Clause.
> >
> > ADJ PREP for Adjectival Prepositional Phrase (e.g. 'in the white suit' in
> > 'The man in the white suit.'
> >
> > ADV PREP for Adverbial Prepositional Phrase (e.g. 'over the bridge' in
> 'The
> > procession was filing over the bridge').
> >
> > ABS for Absolute Phrase (e.g. 'He stopped at the corner, the rain lashing
> at
> > the windscreen.')
> >
> > ING for Present Participle Phrases (e.g. The rooks, cawing in comical
> > surprise, rose clumsily into the air.')
> >
> > ED for Past Participle Phrases (this included the strong verbs which do
> not
> > use 'ed' to indicate the past participle -- e.g. 'thrown out of the car'
> in
> > 'The gun, thrown out of the car, had disappeared into the grass.').
> >
> >
> > When I reverse the process in sentence combining (for all these can be
> used
> > to indicate to students how to combine), I also include 'HYPH' for the
> > collapsing of a sentence into a hyphenated word. For example:
> >
> > The child delighted them all.
> > The child loved fun. (HYPH)
> >
> > Becomes 'The fun-loving child delighted them all.'
> >
> > One is helped by the fact that many distinguished writers enjoy creating
> new
> > hyphenated words from such combining. For example:
> >
> > [Gerard Manley Hopkins] 'Some of the pigeons are dull thunder-colour or
> > black-grape-colour.'
> >
> > [James Joyce] 'Suddenly the dog made off like a bounding hare, ears flung
> > back, chasing the shadow of a low-skimming gull.'
> >
> > [Shakespeare] '. . .who knows
> > If the scarce-bearded Caesar have not sent
> > His powerful mandate to you.'
> >
> > [William Barnes] 'and the sheep, little-kneed, with a quick-dipped nod'
> >
> > Hopkins, Barnes -- and Barnes' friend, Thomas Hardy -- were all
> > unconsciously aware that the Anglo-Saxon words of English have rarely
> been
> > hyphenated (compare the cognate German language, full of such compounds),
> > and they started to look for original linkages. This can still provide an
> > amusing exercise for students: for example, instead of words of Latin
> > origin, suggest Anglo-Saxon substitutes, thus -- for OEcollision¹ a
> two-bang;
> > OEauction¹ a step-buy; OEfrustration¹ foot-bind-hood; OEdentist¹,
> > tooth-soother; OEvaccinate¹, cow-sting.
> >
> >
> > Edmond Wright
> >
> >
> > Dr. Edmond Wright
> > 3 Boathouse Court
> > Trafalgar Road
> > Cambridge
> > CB4 1DU
> > England
> >
> > Email: [log in to unmask]
> > Website: http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/elw33/
> > Phone [00 44] (0)1223 350256
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> Poets
> >> who write
> >> in traditional forms
> >> based on meter and rhyme
> >> chunk their poems
> >> but
> >> in a different way
> >> from graphic syntax,
> >> which chunks based on grammatical
> >> units.
> >> Both,
> >> I believe,
> >> can make text easier to comprehend.
> >> --- On Sat, 12/6/08, Carolyn Hartnett <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> From: Carolyn Hartnett <[log in to unmask]>
> >> Subject: Graphic Syntax
> >> To: [log in to unmask]
> >> Date: Saturday, December 6, 2008, 9:51 AM
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Isn't the way much poetry is printed somewhat similar to graphic syntax?
> >> It makes poems easier to read, I believe.
> >>
> >> Carolyn Hartnett
> >> Professor Emeritus, College of the Mainland
> >> 2027 Bay St.
> >> Texas City, Texas 77590To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit
> the
> >> list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.htmland
> >> select "Join or leave the list"
> >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >>
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> >
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> >
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